Captives - Afterimage

Hailing from Eagle Mountain, Utah (if I was ever proud of a hometown name...), Captives bring us another case of emotionally desperate indie-punk/hardcore in vein of bands like Balance and Composure, Brand New and The Republic of Wolves. The ideas are flawless; take the surging energy and aggression displayed in opener "All I Have". which goes through several jarring tempo-changes that incorporate atmospheric build-up and breakdowns- all in its first two minutes. If it sounds exhausting, that's because it is; vocals strain over the vulnerable "I can't take this back/Although I wish I could".

Afterimage doesn't provide much variety over it's 28-minute runtime, but it makes for a cohesive listen. When the band does branch out (the slower, straightforward anthem "Leaving" and the absolutely stunning standout "To Forget"), the band is wildly successful in creating something that differs from their influences (especially in the plodding pace and build-up of the latter). However, Captives stick their formula fairly precisely, providing more of the same indie-punk hybrid we can't seem to get enough of ("Broken Oars"), and who can blame them? As I said before, the ideas are flawless (albeit a little familiar).

The downside to this is in Captives' execution. Throughout "All I Have", the clean vocals sound nearly identical to those of Balance and Composure's Jon Simmons, but needing just a touch more work. The same goes for the screaming; while the most important parts are shining with emotion, others just feel to be...missing something. It's almost as if the band wrote this interesting collection of songs that just needed a little more time perfecting before taking them to the studio. The musicianship here does become slightly repetitive, but more often than not, it can be downright captivating when the band are at their best (see the epic, atmospheric outro of "To Forget" which features the cathartic repetition of "I was always your favorite"). The guitars often take forefront throughout Afterimage, unfortunately leaving the crushing drumwork, and especially the bass, in the dust.

Then again, it doesn't take more than a fierce, Brand New-esque closing cut like "Squander" to peak the imagination of what Captives are truly capable of. The song grows from its softer moments, spins a heavier edge on the verses before hitting you with a devastating, unforgettable outro. Lyrically, the band finds themselves somewhere between the simplicity of several 90's revival acts and the dark, unmatchable quips of Jesse Lacey. In Afterimage we find a Captives showing us not only where they are now but the places they're headed; perhaps by their next release, they'll have made the journey there.

Good review! Other than one of their vocalists having a lot of rasp on his higher end I don't see the vocal comparison to Jon Simmons at all. Jon has a definite Jeff Mangum whine, and a the majority of his melodies are quite mono-tone and simplistic while Captives on the other hand don't have much whine and their melodies are all over the place. I like the dual vocals a ton, it adds a whole different feel to their music. Captives obviously has a ton of room to grow, so I'm stoked to see them progress.

Good review! Other than one of their vocalists having a lot of rasp on his higher end I don't see the vocal comparison to Jon Simmons at all. Jon has a definite Jeff Mangum whine, and a the majority of his melodies are quite mono-tone and simplistic while Captives on the other hand don't have much whine and their melodies are all over the place. I like the dual vocals a ton, it adds a whole different feel to their music. Captives obviously has a ton of room to grow, so I'm stoked to see them progress.

Thank you! I don't think the comparison is always there, but at times I did find it very similar. I definitely think they're on the right track to something bigger.

Personally, I don't hear the Balance & Composure comparisons all that much. I definitely agree that there's an influence of B&C int the style of music, but not much else, it's much more subtle than I think you mentioned in your review, fans of that band will 100% be into this, I just don't think they should be lumped in as an imitator, they have their own sound imo.

Listening to their first EP and then this one, they're miles apart. The production on this is killer and you can hear how much progression has been made from their previous release. This album slays, more people need to know about them and they need to tour soon, I bet they're awesome live.

Personally, I don't hear the Balance & Composure comparisons all that much. I definitely agree that there's an influence of B&C int the style of music, but not much else, it's much more subtle than I think you mentioned in your review, fans of that band will 100% be into this, I just don't think they should be lumped in as an imitator, they have their own sound imo.

Listening to their first EP and then this one, they're miles apart. The production on this is killer and you can hear how much progression has been made from their previous release. This album slays, more people need to know about them and they need to tour soon, I bet they're awesome live.

I definitely wouldn't lump them in as an imitator...I just think the influence is fairly apparent, as with Brand New's (especially on "Squander"). They certainly have their own sound, but I think it still has a little progress to make...doesn't make it bad. Everybody's gotta take steps to get to where they want to be.

I definitely wouldn't lump them in as an imitator...I just think the influence is fairly apparent, as with Brand New's (especially on "Squander"). They certainly have their own sound, but I think it still has a little progress to make...doesn't make it bad. Everybody's gotta take steps to get to where they want to be.

Agreed. Squander is my personal favorite. I hope they expand on that sound rather than the 90's revival post-grunge/emo/post-punk/whatever sound.